From the Sector

Conventional sports textiles made from petroleum-based synthetic fibres are to be replaced in the future by sustainable, bio-based, cooling textiles. Polyethylene, previously used mainly in the packaging industry, is thus qualified for use in textiles and, as a bio-based drop-in solution, offers a cost-effective, sustainable alternative for the future.

TECNARO (Ilsfeld/Germany), BB Engineering (Remscheid/Germany), FALKE (Schmallenberg/Germany) and the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University have developed textiles from bio-based polyethylene (bioPE) in the bioPEtex project of the BIOTEXFUTURE Innovation Space.

TECNARO develops the bio-based PE compounds and handles their dyeing. ITA is concentrating on the process development for melt spinning (partially-oriented yarn, POY) and false-twist texturing (draw-textured yarn, DTY) of the bioPE yarns. BB Engineering implements the false-twist texturing on an industrial scale, and FALKE is developing the final T-shirt, which will be treated with a bio-based finish for improved elasticity.

The successful creation of a first T-shirt from the yarns developed in this project underscores their promising characteristics. This represents a key milestone and forms the basis for investigating potential market readiness in subsequent phases. Above all, the white BioPE T-shirt impresses with its pleasantly cool and soft touch. However, additional development, characterisation, and optimisation steps are necessary to make a market introduction possible.

Ontex Group NV (Euronext: ONTEX), a leading international developer and producer of personal care solutions, has received an ‘A’ rating for the second year in a row from CDP, the global environmental non-profit, for its leadership in corporate transparency and performance on climate change.

In its 2025 CDP Climate Change assessment, Ontex received strong scores across key management and transparency categories, including governance, business strategy and value chain engagement.  The assessment also highlights the clear priorities for the next phase of Ontex’s climate journey, including scaling energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions, strengthening emissions reduction initiatives and further embedding climate considerations into financial decision-making.

In 2025, Ontex further strengthened its climate performance through a number of concrete actions, including:

• Achieving 100% renewable electricity across its operations;
• Further embedding carbon transparency into product innovation, by expanding the use of its product sustainability scorecard to guide innovation and design decisions;
• Deepening supplier collaboration on climate data, working directly with suppliers to obtain primary emissions factors and improve the accuracy of Scope 3 carbon reporting.

Annick De Poorter, Chief Innovation & Sustainability Officer, said: “We are proud to earn a CDP ‘A’ rating again. It reflects the robustness of Ontex’s climate governance and the integration of climate-related risks and opportunities into strategic decision-making. Especially, since the sustainability landscape is shifting—while some reporting rules are easing, demands for transparency and proof of progress are rising. These challenges push us to keep raising the bar, working openly and together to drive real change across our value chain. That’s how we are ‘Here for you. Here for the better.’

The German Federation of Reinforced Plastics (AVK) is calling for entries for the prestigious AVK Innovation Award 2026. The association is looking for outstanding innovations in the field of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) / composites in the following categories:

• Innovative products/components or applications 
• Innovative procedures/processes 
• Research and science 

The aim of the AVK Innovation Award is to promote forward-looking products, components, and applications made from FRP, as well as innovative manufacturing methods and processes. Another focus is on recognizing excellent scientific work from universities, colleges, and research institutes.

Sustainability plays a central role in all categories. Awards are given not only to the innovations themselves, but also to the companies and institutions behind them. In this way, the AVK aims to highlight the performance, innovative strength, and future viability of the entire composites industry.

The submissions are evaluated by a high-caliber jury of proven experts from the composites industry.

The deadline for submitting application documents is March 27, 2026. Further details and evaluation criteria can be found online.

The award ceremony will take place on October 20, 2026, as part of the JEC Forum DACH in Cologne (October 20-21, 2026).

As of December 2025, Mr Matthias Schwetzel, MBA, has taken over management of OETI - Institute for Ecology, Technology and Innovation GmbH – from retired Robert Löcker, MBA. He brings more than 15 years of international leadership experience in the environmental and testing services sector, including at Eurofins, and has in-depth expertise in strategic management and change management in global markets.

Albeit sustainable fashion cannot escape the general economic malaise, INNATEX at Messecenter Hofheim Rhein-Main demonstrates that the industry continues to work on viable strategies. The fully booked 57th edition of the international trade show for sustainable textiles focuses its supporting program on current discussions within the industry: public relevance and sales of green fashion.

The INNATEX order platform brings the industry’s challenges and possible solutions to center stage in its supporting programme, offering new formats, the premiere of Evolution Stage as well as topics that participants within sustainable fashion must address. Exhibitors include established brands such as Recolution, Dawn Denim, Vaude, Mela, Rotholz, Two Thirds, Reiff und Moea, as well as first-time exhibitors.

“Our trade floor is again booked up, many brands claim crowded appointment schedules – but uncertainty remains.” notes Alexander Hitzel, project manager for INNATEX. “No one knows how the market will develop. But there is one thing we can influence, namely ensuring that INNATEX offers maximum benefit, combining trade recommendations, innovation impulses, tools and space for honest discussion and dialogue“.

INNATEX Evolution Stage: Participating Brands
‘Evolution Stage – Shaping Tomorrow’s Fashion’ brings together brands that combine design, quality and future relevance, presenting them in a concept store setting. Conceived and curated by designer Jonathan Radetz, this format represents economic feasibility, applied synergies and a sales-boosting product range design at the point of sale. Chosen for this premiere are the labels Maatroom, Vidar Sport, Jungle Folk, ZAMT, Halt.Clothing, DeLin and Makesomebodyhappy.

Information and retail recommendations for an industry in turmoil
The further supporting programme picks up on issues and questions which market participants must address to remain fit for the future. These range from AI-supported strategies in the retail fashion trade to long-term developments in design and product conception to the importance of product longevity and brand building to support purchase decisions.

Nonwovens and the 9th Wonder of the World
Palm Jebel Ali – an ambitious artificial archipelago off Dubai’s Jebel Ali coast – is making a high-profile return after years of dormancy, which is good news for the construction industry and for the manufacturers of geotextiles and other engineered nonwovens who will be involved.

Initially launched in 2002, the project was to be a palm-shaped island even larger than its famed sibling, Palm Jumeirah (billed as ‘The 8th Wonder of the World’), but suffered delays and suspension following the global financial crisis of 2008. 

After remaining largely on hold for over a decade, it was formally relaunched in 2023, with construction resuming in 2024 under a revised master plan targeting completion around 2028. 

The renewed vision for Palm Jebel Ali is bolder and more sustainable. At about 13.4 square metres, the island is now designed to be more than twice the size of Palm Jumeirah, adding nearly 100 kilometres of new coastline to Dubai’s map. It includes multiple fronds, interconnected islands, luxury residential units, hotel and resort zones, marinas and extensive waterfront amenities. 

A key aim is to blend high-end living with smarter infrastructure, environmental consciousness and modern urban planning, marking a step beyond the purely spectacle-driven island developments of the past. 

Palm Jumeirah
Completed around 2006/07, Palm Jumeirah required massive engineering works to transform marine seabed into a stable platform for residential, hotel and infrastructure development. Underlying that ambition was a need to manage soil, water and structural stability in a highly demanding environment of waves, tides and fine and sometimes mobile sediments. 

One company heavily involved in this work was INDEX™26 exhibitor Fibertex, as the supplier of engineered fabrics for several of Palm Jumeirah’s containment, separation, drainage and stabilisation functions.

For the breakwater protecting Palm Jumeirah’s outer edge, a specific nonwoven grade was used as a stabilising geotextile. In effect, this fabric was laid between structural rock layers or between rock and sand zones to prevent migration of fine particles, filter subsurface flows, and preserve the intended layering.

In a marine rock-fill breakwater, designers traditionally achieve filtration with graded stone filters alone. That approach is robust but demands precise gradation and thicker sections. A high-strength, puncture-resistant nonwoven delivers the same filter/separator function in a thinner interface, while accommodating differential settlement and allowing free water flow to relieve pore pressures. 

The breakwater itself is substantial – the Palm’s protective seawall runs around 12 kilometres in length and roughly 200 metres wide, forming a barrier that must resist wave and storm action while preventing seabed scour and internal erosion. 

The geotextile layer thus acts as a demarcation/interface between rock armour and the inner sand and gravel fill materials in order to maintain the mechanical integrity of the breakwater and reduce mixing of layers under hydraulic stress. 

The involvement of Fibertex in the project, however, went further various grades of the company’s nonwoven geotextiles were specified for the reclaimed island’s internal infrastructure, including the roads on each frond as well as drainage systems and landscaping.

Landmarks
Nonwoven geotextiles have become one of the most influential yet least recognised technologies shaping the construction of modern landmarks. Through careful control of fibre type, density and bonding method, engineers have created materials that can filter, separate, drain and reinforce in ways once unimaginable. They are now used wherever earth meets infrastructure – between layers of aggregate, behind retaining walls, beneath pavements, along riverbanks and below rail beds. Their dual nature is significant – they are strong enough to withstand immense stresses, yet porous enough to allow water to flow freely.

The idea of using textiles in soil is not new and even the Romans stabilised roads with layers of organic fibre, but nonwoven geotextiles have made it possible to apply the same principle on a scale suited to 21st Century construction. These materials first came to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s when engineers sought reliable separation layers for highways and embankments. Since then, they have quietly found their way into some of the world’s most recognisable civil works.

Runways and tunnels
In the runways of airports, for example, carefully layered structures of base course and treated subgrade lie below the concrete surface. Between these, a nonwoven layer acts as a bond breaker and separator, preventing the upward movement of fine particles and relieving stresses that could cause cracking at the surface. 

This small intervention can extend the runway’s life by decades and reduce the frequency of costly closures. At such sites, the stakes are high – aircraft weighing hundreds of tons depend on uniform support and impeccable drainage and the nonwoven layer ensures both.

In tunnels and underground rail networks, nonwovens perform a different yet equally critical function. Behind the waterproofing membranes that line the excavation, they serve as protective cushions, allowing the flexible membranes to accommodate ground movement without puncture. They channel seepage water into drainage systems, keeping the tunnel interior dry and safe. The great subterranean arteries of modern cities – their metros, deep stations and cut-and-cover highways – are lined with these unseen fabrics. When commuters move effortlessly through stations that might once have dripped with moisture, they are benefitting from the quiet performance of a nonwoven layer only a few millimetres thick.

Erosion control
In dam and reservoir construction, nonwoven geotextiles meanwhile provide filtration and erosion control in zones where fine soils meet coarse drainage aggregates. Their role here is to hold back the soil while allowing water to pass, preventing the formation of internal erosion channels that can threaten stability. Some of the most ambitious water projects in the world have relied on them to safeguard the transition between impervious cores and drainage layers. Decades after installation, many continue to perform flawlessly – illustrating their durability under constant load and hydraulic pressure.

Coastal and river protection projects, too, have embraced nonwovens. Beneath rock armour, breakwaters or sand-filled tubes, they stabilise the subsoil and prevent scour by wave action. When severe storms strike, these layers can be the difference between an intact shoreline and a collapsed embankment. In ports and estuaries where space is limited, nonwovens have enabled the construction of vertical quay walls and reclaimed land by controlling the migration of fines and maintaining hydraulic balance. They are the quiet custodians of modern coastlines, extending the life of structures that face the full force of nature. 

Quiet strength
When Palm Jebel Ali rises from the Gulf, it will stand as a further reminder that the most visionary feats of engineering depend not only on grand designs but also on the quiet strength of the materials beneath them. 

Nonwoven geotextiles, though unseen, remain key tools of such progress and in playing their part in shaping the 9th Wonder of the World, will once again reaffirm their place at the foundation of modern civilisation’s most ambitious landscapes.

For the third time in a row, the CHT Group has been recognized as champion of the adiFORMULATOR AWARD by adidas.

Dr. Annegret Vester, Chief Sustainability Officer, states: "We are very pleased that the CHT Group has been recognized as a leading company by adidas. With our partnership with adidas we reinforce our pro-active and long-term commitment to continuous improvement in both products and processes. This is a vital component of the CHT sustainability strategy, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

Nittima Kulmanoros, Brand & Retail Management, adds: “We are convinced that our success story will inspire our customers, brand partners, and other partners in the textile industry to set new standards. Our CHT B&R and regional teams are ready to share their expertise and support globally. At CHT, we are looking forward to this exciting journey together with you."

Sustainability through innovation
With innovative processes such as PIGMENTURA by CHT and the “Best Solution” concept BeSo® EFFECTIVE, CHT supports textile manufacturers in reducing costs and resources while making a positive contribution to climate protection. The increased use of renewable and recycled materials – for example, in products such as ARRISTAN rAIR – actively promotes the circular economy.

CHT Group reaffirms its commitment to sustainable chemical solutions and product stewardship
The CHT Group is sending a clear signal for sustainability and responsibility in the textile industry. With a comprehensive approach to product stewardship, the company takes responsibility for their products and ingredients respectively throughout their entire life cycle. The aim is to ensure human safety and minimize environmental risks.

Comprehensive product stewardship is the basis for successful sustainability certifications:

• ZDHC certification: More than 2,200 products certified at Level 3.
• Chem-MAP®: ZDHC Approved V3.1 Certifier (Level 1, 2 & 3).
• bluesign® technologies ag: CHT is a Global System Partner.
• SCTI membership: As a founding member of Sustainable Chemistry for the Textile Industry, CHT has been supporting transformative changes in the textile value chain since 2020.